College of Education and Allied Professions
MAT/MAED Dispositions Assessment, Fall 2014
At the undergraduate and/or initial licensure level, the following dispositions are expected of all
developing professionals in the College of Education and Allied Professions.
1. Students will project a positive demeanor.
2. Students will behave responsibly.
3. Students will exhibit trustworthiness.
4. Students will build positive interpersonal relationships.
5. Students will demonstrate cultural responsiveness.
6. Students will be engaged learners.
7. Students will demonstrate emotional and social self-control.
8. Students will collaborate effectively.
9. Students will use effective communication.
10. Students will engage in appropriate decision-making.
Advanced licensure seeking candidates admitted to an M.A.Ed. or M.A.T. graduate education
program in the College of Education and Allied Professions are expected to already hold an
initial license, and therefore demonstrate the aforementioned dispositions. As such, these
candidates will be building upon a foundation of initial dispositions and will, through the
program, be cultivating the values, beliefs and dispositions that are prerequisite to a
recommendation for advanced licensure. Candidates are expected to be informed about these
required dispositions and to display behavior demonstrating appropriate dispositions across all
settings associated with their graduate university program and field based requirements. Should
a concern regarding one or more disposition be raised by a university or field setting official, a
disposition rating form will be completed to document concerns, shared with the candidate, and
filed in the candidate’s electronic file. An action plan for remediation may be developed and
similarly filed. Repeated documentation of dispositional concerns can result in removal from the
program.
Introduction and Rationale: The North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards Commission
developed teaching standards based on a “new vision of teaching” in light of 21st century
opportunities, needs and demands. The following five graduate program standards are parallel to
and expand upon those standards. These are advanced standards, appropriate for teacher
education programs to use as guidelines in developing their graduate level teaching programs.
Teachers granted the advanced license are expected to be teacher leaders in their specialty area,
to facilitate the creation of healthy educational environments, to have deep knowledge and skills
in their content and curriculum, to use research in making decisions about effective practice for
student learning, and to be continuous, reflective practitioners who model the values of lifelong
learning, critical thinking, problem-solving and innovation.
As such, the MAED/MAT programs seek to produce students who demonstrate competency in
the following areas: Assessment, Differentiation/Diversity, Leadership and Research.
Technology is a theme that is evident in each of the core theme areas.
The following dispositions are expected in all advanced licensure seeking candidates
enrolled in M.A.Ed. and M.A.T. graduate programs in WCU’s College of Education and
Allied Professions:
1. Candidates will demonstrate a commitment to equity and social justice.
2. Candidates will demonstrate a commitment and understanding of using assessment in an
appropriate and ethical manner.
3. Candidates will meet the needs of diverse students by demonstrating a commitment to the
principles of a culturally responsive curriculum, pedagogy and classroom management
practices that model caring and respect.
4. Candidates acting as teacher leaders will use knowledge, skills and dispositions to
promote an educational culture that values collaboration, sustains reflective practice, and
seeks to build leadership capacity in school settings.
For examples, the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession (CSTP,
2009) identifies five categories of knowledge and skills that are needed to be
effective teacher leaders: working with adult learners, communication, and
collaboration, knowledge of content and pedagogy, and systems thinking.
Additionally, “in order to be seen as a leader, they must also have a set of positive
dispositions and attitudes.” (Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession,
2009. Teacher leadership skills framework. Retrieved from http://www.cstpwa.org)
5. Candidates will demonstrate a commitment to the fundamental assumptions, goals, and
practices of educational research as a means to adapt instruction and promote student
learning.
As advanced competency dispositions, it is expected that candidates will demonstrate these
values, beliefs and dispositions in the work done in the graduate education program. These
dispositions will be clearly associated with the electronic evidences that are included in each
candidate’s advanced licensure portfolio. In the final semester, candidates will be asked to
provide a written reflection where they will assess themselves on these dispositions and provide
examples from the work they have done as part of the MAT/MAED program to document
demonstration of these advanced dispositions; this written reflection will be included in the
graduate advanced competency portfolio.
Admissions (Beginning Dispositions)
The goal of the beginning dispositions assessment is to document that candidates have the
prerequisite skills to be a successful teacher (MAT) and the necessary foundation for acquiring
the advanced dispositions (MAED). MAT candidates will be seeking both an initial and
advanced teacher license in the program; MAED candidates are required to already hold an
initial license and will only be seeking advanced licensure in the program.
Two assessments currently serve this goal for all MAT/MAEd programs:
1. Candidates applying to the MAT or MAED are required to submit references (2 or 3
depending upon the program) from individuals who have supervised them or worked with
them in a professional capacity. Items related to dispositions on the recommendation
form include professional potential, teaching potential, motivation, work ethic, selfreliance and self-direction.
2. Candidates need to meet undergraduate GPA requirements. To qualify for Regular
Admission to the Graduate School, a student must have earned an overall grade point
average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for the last 60 hours of undergraduate work OR 2.85 on a
4.0 scale cumulatively. Some MAT/MAEd programs have additional GPA requirements.
Additional assessments for specific programs include:
1. Special Education MAT/MAEd: CandidatesapplyingtotheMAT/MAEDarerequired
tosubmitawritingsample(i.e.,awrittenessayinresponsetoaprompt).The
writingsamplewillbereviewedbyaprogramfacultymember.Ifquestionsarise,
thesamplewillbebroughtbeforethefullspecialeducationfacultyforreview.The
writingsamplewillgiveabaselinewithregardtocandidatedispositions.
Candidateswillbeaskedtoselectonepromptandrespondwithaonetotwo‐page,
singled‐spaced,essayaddressingthetopic.

Whyshouldasocietyprovidea“freeandappropriate”educationto
studentswithdisabilitieswhowillnotbeabletoachieveacademicor
otherskillsatthesamelevelasstudentswithoutdisabilities?

Whatarethemostimportantskillsorcharacteristicsateachershould
possess,andwhydoyousaythesearethemostimportant?

Describeyourpositiononinclusionofstudentswithdisabilitiesin
generaleducation.Whatarethebenefitsofinclusionandthepotential
barriers?

Itisacommonlyheldbeliefthatgiftedstudentsdonotneedspecial
servicesbecausetheycan“makeitontheirown.”Whyisitimportantfor
schoolstoprovideprogrammingforgiftedandcreativestudents?
2. Secondary Science, English, Social Sciences and K-12 Art MAT/MAEd
a. Candidates applying to the MAT/MAED will be required to submit a writing
sample. The writing sample can be a product from previous coursework and/or
material prepared in a professional capacity. The writing sample will be used to
assess prerequisite knowledge, skills and dispositions of potential candidates and
will be reviewed by the graduate education program coordinator. If questions
arise, the sample will be reviewed by at least one other program faculty member.
b. Candidates applying to the MAT/MAED programs will participate in an interview
with the education program coordinator where they will be asked to discuss their
values, beliefs and dispositions in relation to education and schooling in the 21st
century. Candidates with concerns will be asked to meet with an additional
program faculty member.
c. Candidate files will be evaluated by at least two faculty members; the program
coordinator and another faculty member associated with the candidate’s major
area of study.
Mid-Point Dispositions Assessment
The goal of midpoint dispositions assessment is to address satisfactory student progress and the
acquisition of appropriate knowledge, skills and dispositions. Due to the structure and
organization of the MAT/MAED programs, there is no clearly delineated mid-point for
dispositions assessment.
The following processes and assessments are used to address mid-point dispositions for all
programs:
1. During Sped 639 (MAT) and SPED 620 or SPED 640 (MAED) candidates complete the
Personal and Professional Beliefs about Diversity Scale (Pohan & Aguilar, 2001).
2. Candidates who display inappropriate and/or unprofessional behavior in courses will be
identified by faculty. An action plan will be developed for those students and kept on
file.
3. A candidate’s progress is closely monitored and any student receiving three C’s or an F
in the program will be dismissed and required to apply for readmission prior to
continuing the program.
Additional assessments for specific programs include:
1. Secondary Science, English, Social Sciences and K-12 Art MAT/MAEd
In EDCI 607 and/or EDCI 616, candidates write reflective essays in which they identify
and consider their knowledge, skills and dispositions as teacher leaders and reflective
practitioners. MAT candidates will take both EDCI 607 and EDCI 616, and as such, will
complete the reflection in both classes; however, MAED candidates will complete the
reflective essay only once. EDCI 607 is typically taken in the beginning or midpoint of
the program and EDCI 616 can be taken at any point in a candidate’s program of study.
Final Dispositions Assessment
The goal of the final dispositions assessment is to document and evaluate culminating attitudes,
behaviors, and beliefs associated with the advanced dispositions.
To that end, two assessments are in place for all programs.
1. Candidates complete the Personal and Professional Beliefs about Diversity Scale (Pohan
& Aguilar, 2001) when submitting the graduate advanced competency portfolio.
2. Candidates complete a final reflection as part of the graduate advanced competency
portfolio.
a. Elementary, Middle Grades, Secondary (English, Science, Social Sciences), K-12
Art: The reflection addresses personal strengths and weaknesses in each of the
advanced competency dispositions. Candidates will be asked to provide examples
from the work they have done as part of the MAT/MAED program to document
demonstration of these advanced dispositions.
b. Special Education: The reflection includes a statement outlining professional
goals, leadership skills, advocacy for students with disabilities or students who are
gifted, and collaborative skills.